ARMOUR & CO.

No false `Idol' in Danville We can't imagine there's...

February 20, 2005|By Terry Armour.

No false `Idol' in Danville

We can't imagine there's been this kind of excitement around Danville, Ill., since DICK VAN DYKE first hit it big. The entire town is waging a major campaign for 18-year-old native son JARED YATES to make that next step toward stardom, hopefully vaulting him into the finals of Fox's "American Idol" after Monday's show.

There are signs up all around Danville, located approximately 175 miles south of Chicago, urging townspeople to vote for Yates. And Schlarman Catholic High School Principal RAY BRODERICK (Jared's a senior there) even made an official announcement for students to support their classmate, who is one of 12 semifinalists in the male vocalist category. "We told them to call all of their relatives," Broderick told Armour & Co. "It's starting to build here."

Yep, Yates, who has been singing around town and performing in school plays since he was a little kid, is the hottest thing in a town that spawned such talents as Van Dyke, BOBBY SHORT, DONALD O'CONNOR and GENE HACKMAN. He tells Armour & Co. he's used to the support, though he's never experienced anything of this magnitude before. Does it make him nervous about Monday's show? "It does, a little," Yates told us when we tracked him down during rehearsals in L.A. on Friday. "But I'm glad I'm getting this kind of support. I was kind of worried about a fan base because so many other people have been shown during the show. But I've got a pretty good fan base around Danville."

Desperately seeking viewers

It's beginning to look like the days are numbered for the critically acclaimed yet viewer-challenged NBC drama "American Dreams." The network put it on hiatus for the February sweeps period with plans to bring it back with new episodes beginning on March 9, moving it from its Sunday time slot. And one of those upcoming episodes will feature PARIS HILTON as BARBARA EDEN from "I Dream of Jeannie," an obvious ratings ploy. "It doesn't hurt to have Paris Hilton dressed like a genie," JAMIE ELMAN, who plays Luke Foley, told Armour & Co.

If the show ends up getting canned, at least Elman will have pictures. A photo buff, Elman has been snapping candid behind-the-scenes shots for takegreatpictures.com. Unfortunately, he wasn't around the day Hilton was on the set. "When I came in the next day to work, there were tons of pictures of Paris in this unbelievable outfit," Elman told us. "I think every guy on the crew at some point or another got their picture taken with her. Talk about bad timing."

You can take the fans out of Chicago

It would seem like an easier task for ELLEN DeGENERES to bring her talk show to Chicago, instead of bringing Chicago to her show.

"Well, I have a bad reaction to frostbite, so I wanted to invite people here to get out of the cold," DeGeneres told Armour & Co. when we tracked her down in Los Angeles Friday.

Out of the cold and into her "cold studio" is how DeGeneres put it, inviting more than 200 Chicagoans to view "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" live Wednesday (the show will air Thursday). Just how did DeGeneres pull this off? Well, last week she had staffer HOUSTON ROSE and a camera crew going around the Big Windy -- including stops at the Chicago Auto Show, Water Tower Place and at the Millennium Park skating rink -- looking for fans of the show. They were shocked to find out that DeGeneres was actually flying them to L.A. to be part of an all-Windy City audience.

We're all adults here so let's be candid -- there's a certain segment of the population that might not venture to theaters to see "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" when it opens nationwide Friday. Whites, perhaps. Males, perhaps. That's where OPRAH WINFREY comes in.

What's known around these parts as "The O Factor" could mean a wider audience for the flick. For instance, when 20th Century Fox wanted to bring women into theaters for "Master & Commander," RUSSELL CROWE popped up on Oprah. And Winfrey already has put her stamp on "Diary," TYLER PERRY's romantic comedy about a woman (KIMBERLY ELISE) who tries to get revenge on the husband (STEVEN HARRIS), who threw her out of the house, meanwhile falling in love with another man (SHEMAR MOORE). "The thing about Oprah is that she really doesn't support you unless she really buys into it," Elise told Armour & Co. after a taping of Oprah's show here a few days ago. "And people respect what she says."

Moore agreed that shilling on Oprah can't hurt a film. "Oprah is not black -- Oprah is Oprah," he says. "And when you go to her show and look in the crowd you see black, white -- everything."